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A young woman holds up a photo of the new supreme leader of Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei, at a protest against US-Israeli strikes on Iran held in Baghdad, Iraq, on March 12, 2026. (AFP/Yonhap)

Mojtaba Khamenei, the new supreme leader of Iran, issued his first public statement on Thursday, in which he vowed to continue to restrict passage through the Strait of Hormuz and attack US bases in the Middle East. The message sent was one of zero compromise and commitment to Iran’s war with the US and Israel. 

In the message, read out loud by a newscaster on a public broadcast on Thursday (local time), Khamenei stressed that the “leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz must definitely continue to be employed,” while also calling for neighboring countries to “shut down” the US bases in the region and vowing to continue to target the bases for attack. 

While Iran “still believe[s] in the necessity of maintaining our friendship” with its neighboring countries, Khamenei said, it would continue to attack US bases located within their borders, saying that Iran “will have no choice but to continue this course of action” and suggesting that Iran’s Middle Eastern neighbors reconsider hosting US bases. 

“In the recent attacks [against Iran], a number of military bases were used. Naturally, as we had clearly warned in advance, we have only targeted those bases without committing any act of aggression against those [regional] countries,” Khamenei said.  

“After this, we will have no choice but to continue this course of action even though we still believe in the necessity of maintaining our friendship with those neighbors,” he went on. 

“We won’t forgo avenging the blood of your martyrs,” the message continued, calling for a continuation of the war. 

“Revenge is the top priority, and we will pursue it until it is completely achieved.”

He referred to the young girls who died in what appears to have been a US strike on a girls’ school as martyrs, and vowed to avenge them. 

The message also addressed Iran’s proxies in the region, calling them “fighters in the resistance front” and thanking them as Iran’s “closest friends.” 

“The cause of the resistance and the resistance front are an inseparable part of the Islamic Revolution’s values,” the message continued, appealing to proxies in Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen. 

The message also hinted at an expansion in the war, suggesting that the regime was looking into “opening other fronts where the enemy has minimal experience and where it would be highly vulnerable.” 

As the war continues and as things stack up in Iran’s favor, such measures will be carried out, the Iranian leader warned. 

Khamenei also vowed to extract compensation from the US and Israel regarding damage sustained during strikes. 

“We will obtain compensation from the enemy. If they refuse, we will take it from their assets to the extent we deem appropriate,” he said. “If that proves impossible, we will repay the damage they’ve inflicted on us in kind.”

In the same message, Khamenei confirmed that his wife and sister had been killed in the US-Israeli strikes. 

“In addition to my father, whose loss has become a matter of public sorrow, I’ve entrusted my dear, loyal wife, in whom I placed great hopes, my self-sacrificing sister who devoted herself to serving her parents [. . .] to the caravan of martyrs,” he said. 

Khamenei reportedly sustained an injury to his leg in the US-Israeli strikes, though he neither confirmed nor denied such speculation in his message.  

By using his first public statement to call for escalating the war against the US, Khamenei has likely pushed US President Donald Trump’s hopes of ending the conflict even further out of reach.

During an interview with Axios on Wednesday, Trump hinted that the war would end “soon” as there’s “practically nothing left to target.” That echoed the US president’s remark on Monday that the war would end quickly, while clarifying that he didn’t want to leave the region prematurely and that the US needs to finish the job. 

The remarks are being viewed as an assumption of victory in a situation where US troops can’t leave immediately. 

Regarding Trump’s attempts to wrap up the war by claiming victory, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Monday, “We are the ones who will determine the end of the war” — not the US. 

In the time since, Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, conducted airstrikes on Israel, and attacked US bases and diplomatic facilities throughout the Middle East. 

The new supreme leader’s message emphasized that constricting the Strait of Hormuz was a tool to pressure Iran’s enemies, adding that such tactics will continue. 

Consequently, international oil prices have grown increasingly unstable, creating the conditions for a global economic crisis. 

Despite member nations of the International Energy Agency deciding to release around 400 million barrels from their reserves, international oil prices exceeded US$100 per barrel on Thursday.

This price is expected to go up as Khamenei has vowed to continue attacks on oil freighters in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran attacked six civilian vessels, including oil tankers, in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf on Thursday, effectively blocking maritime traffic. 

On the same day, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that it had conducted a joint operation with Hezbollah for around five hours to target over 50 sites in Israel.  

Mojtaba is the second son of Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader who was killed in US-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28. He was appointed to be the next supreme leader of Iran on March 8. Since his appointment, however, he has not shown himself publicly. The public message was issued four days after his appointment.  

By Jung E-gil, senior staff writer

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